A 19-year-old psychology student who stepped in to confront a mouthy bigot on a Sydney train has become friends with the young woman she was defending.
Nikki Strong says she couldn't stay silent when an older lady started grumbling because Natalie Soto, 20, was speaking Spanish on the phone to her mother.
"My mum just wanted to make sure I had caught the right train. Her English isn't very good so I was speaking to her in Spanish," Ms Soto told the Sydney Morning Herald.
But her language inflamed the prejudices of a fellow passenger, who saw fit to inflict her displeasure on the whole carriage.
Natalie Soto. (Facebook)
"We speak in English in this country," the woman said loudly.
"It's not English. Why should we have to listen to f---ing rambling?"
"I didn't really take any notice until she turned around and looked at me and said 'get that dirty wog off the train, she's giving me a headache'," Ms Soto, whose mother is a first-generation Chilean immigrant, told the Herald.
One person who did notice was Nikki Strong, who was sufficiently appalled by the outburst that she decided to take the woman to task.
Nikki Strong. (Facebook)
"She made a comment about people wearing turbans as well and there was a collective sigh," Ms Strong told The Daily Mail.
"It just seemed like she had a problem with people that did not look Caucasian."
Since the incident, which happened Thursday morning on a CBD-bound airport-line train, Ms Strong has contacted Ms Soto, who is also a psychology student, and the pair have agreed to meet up.
"We definitely want to meet up. We've found we have a lot in common," Ms Strong told the Herald.
"I was just overwhelmed," Ms Soto told the Mail.
"You're usually left to fend for yourself and whatever happens, happens."
© ninemsn 2015